New Zealand News

New Zealand ALPA in turn was accusing the airline of trying to crush the union, using similar tactics to those claimed to have been employed in Australia.

Air New Zealand ordered three -400s. The first arrived in 1989 and was promptly leased to Cathay Pacific. According to the airline, this was done because it would be impossible to make full use of the aircraft’s range under existing award conditions with the pilots.

The next -400 is due in November and if this aircraft was to go into service (presumably in tandem with the reclaimed lease aircraft), training of technical crews had to begin before the end of April. The third aircraft will arrive in 1992.

The pilots’ beef involves an old claim for an award encompassing all commercial pilots. Because of this (or the failure to achieve it), the old award lapsed in 1988 and the company’s pilots have been on personal contracts since. The pilots say that while they would be prepared to fly the new aircraft under the terms of existing contracts for a period, they wanted an all encompassing award drawn up for the long term.

Ansett Looks at Island Run

Ansett New Zealand may well go offshore soon, though not necessarily international. For many years, the Government has paid the Air New Zealand owned airline, Safe Air, a subsidy to fly services to the Chatham Islands, 1,000 kilometres east of Christ- church. A cabinet committee has now approved the formation of a limited liability company to manage commercial undertakings for the Chathams, including air and shipping services.

Ansett New Zealand quickly confirmed its interest in flying the service, possibly once weekly to begin with, using BAe 146s. It says it believes it can provide unsubsidised services with little or no increase in fares. Safe Air, whose contract has been extended until the end of this year, says it wants to continue, but removal of the subsidy ($NZ463,000 a year) would increase fares by 20%. Safe Air flies Argosy (ex-RAF) four engined aircraft on the route, but one of the two machines was out of service early this year because of undercarriage damage.

Meanwhile, Ansett New Zealand says the worst of its establishment costs are over. The airline, which has been flying domestic services for three years, is not yet what chief executive Gary Smith calls cash neutral. Nor does it expect to make profits for 12 to 18 months. “The important thing is that our performance is improving almost weekly. We have weathered two nasty years and this year won’t be as bad as the others. The company was at the cross-roads 12 months ago-it could have gone either way. ”

Ansett NZ now has all seven BAe 146s flying, having withdrawn all its Boeing 737-100s from service. Two have been disposed of overseas and the remaining three are expected to return to the leaser, America West, soon.

Air NZ Looks at Australia

The Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr Bill Jeffries, said at the end of March that he would be pushing for Air New Zealand to be allowed to fly on Australian domestic routes. Mr Jeffries said he intended meeting his Australian counterpart once the post election lineup was decided.

After October, there would be other entrants on the Australian market. “The big question is will they (the Australians) allow New Zealand interests to participate in domestic civil aviation”, Mr Jef- fries said.

Asked if he would back a move for Ansett to fly the Tasman, Mr Jeffries said that depended on the Australian Government. He indicated that if agreement could be reached on New Zealand participation in Australia’s domestic aviation, one of the consequences could be Ansett on the Tasman.

Outcry Over Bill

Despite an enormous outcry from the aviation industry and against the advice of two commissioned reports, Civil Aviation Minister Bill Jeffries introduced the Civil Aviation Law Reform Bill on March 29.

The bill firmly locks civil aviation into a continued marriage with the lacklustre Ministry of Transport, making it even less independent than it has been in previous years. Even more perplexing, it replaces the aviation expert head of civil aviation with two professional bureaucrats whose job is to advise the minister on safety.

In the period of turmoil preceding the bill, civil aviation lost many of its most skilled people. The rock bottom morale of the division was noted in the most recent of the commissioned reports (the O’Day-Murray report) which was scathingly critical of the organisation and leadership of the Ministry of Transport.

However, the Minister has chosen to ignore the overwhelming case for a stand alone authority. Various arguments for the bill have surfaced, ranging from the hoary cry for “an integrated transport policy” to the more compelling point that its a money saver. Cynics say it may well be, but its unlikely to save lives.

Briefs

• Air New Zealand has sold one of its 11 Boeing 737-200s for $NZ19. 5m, a profit above book value of $NZ14. 1m. The aircraft, which entered service in 1978, is one of six of the older -200s expected to be sold in the near future, making way for an order for six of the later model 737s due to go into service in 1993. The company has discreetly denied a suggestion attributed to chairman, Mr Bob Matthew, that the remaining five 737-200s would be hush-kitted.

• Pilot error is held responsible for the crash which killed a member of the Kiwi Red aerobatic team, F/O Graham Carter, at Ohakea late last year. The six member Skyhawk team was performing a roll under break manoeuvre. A court of inquiry said it appeared F/O Carter “deviated slightly from the standard procedure”, and his aircraft struck the underside of another aircraft in the formation. • From July, all operators (including pilots) will pay for information supplied to them by the Meteorological Service. At present, the service is supplied to airlines under contract, with a free service to general aviation. The charge for domestic aircraft – except helicopters and gliders – will be $NZ25 a year.

• Three new Britten-Norman BN2B Islanders have been sold to the Tahiti airline, Air Moorea, by the Hamilton based Aeromotive Corporation. The twins were scheduled to be delivered from Pil- atus Britten-Norman’s Bembridge, England, factory in May.

• Due at Air Freight’s Palmerston North base in April was a Con- vair CV-580, imported to replace an aircraft of the same type which crashed on takeoff from Auckland in 1989. As with the original two, the replacement aircraft was purchased from Kelowna Flightcraft of British Columbia.

• The RNZAF has completed the most extensive Skyhawk rebuild job yet. The aircraft, NZ6218, flipped while landing at Townsville (Qld) in 1985 and was returned to Woodbourne RNZAF base by C-130. The repair included the aft fuselage reconstruction, the rebuilding of the nose landing gear and nose section and the fitting of new wings. To ensure correct alignment, a tail assembly jig had to be manufactured.

• Air New Zealand shares, which hit the market at $NZ2. 40 last October and rose to more than $NZ2. 70, were in mid April trading at $NZ1. 78.